Valia
Valia (Holy Roman Empire / 透魔王国 Tōma Ōkoku lit. Tōma Kingdom, also called the Invisible Kingdom in the Japanese version) is a country in KvD Swords of Fate. The Kingdom is hidden at the bottom of the Bottomless Canyon in complete isolation from Hotaru, Novania and the surrounding Valence nations. Profile The HRE is a nation hidden beneath the Bottomless Canyon, when it was founded by the Mechon/Silent Dragon Atheros and the first Roman King Kadros, completely undisturbed and with little interaction with the world with only the royal families, specifically the kings and queens of Hotaru and Novania, knowing of its existence. The pathway to the HRE beneath the Bottomless Canyon opens and closes every few decades, coinciding with the skies changing above Novania and Hotaru. The royal castle of the HRE is called Argentum (ロウラン, Lōran lit. Latin for wealth.) At an unspecified point in time before the game's events, the final king was slain by a degenerated Atheros, whom had developed a strong grudge against humanity after being betrayed by the Romans. Atheros eventually wiped out a vast majority of Ferola's inhabitants and usurped the throne of the HRE as its self-proclaimed god-king. Several fled from the dragon's wrath, among them being Ferola's queen Aretus and her sister Madoka, along with Aretus's daughter Risa and Madoka's child the Avatar. Aretus and Madoka would later became the second wives of the respective kings of the countries of Novania and Hotaru. The kingdom boasts strange geometry, as the land and sky itself seems to be rend in pieces, and floats about seemingly at random. It is unknown if the kingdom was like this prior or after Atheros took over Ferola. Atheros also placed a powerful curse upon the kingdom, causing anyone who attempted to reveal the existence of Ferola outside of its borders to dissolve into water and disappear. As a result, its existence is known only to a small handful of people. The age of this curse is unspecified, but there seems to be no written or historical knowledge of the kingdom outside of it, so presumably the curse created after Atheros' destruction of Ferola and that the curse was broken upon Atheros's death. Due to Atheros's control over its people, the soldiers of the HRE are often known as Crusaders, although they are properly called Crusites (透魔兵 Tōmahei lit. Invisible Demon Soldiers) during the DLC Hidden Truths 2 and on the Revelation Destiny route. They share the same classes as the soldiers of Hotaru and Novania. However, they are wreathed in ghostly flames and appear as translucent humanoid figures, most likely to serve as a method of intimidation and to prevent anyone from discovering Ferola in the event that they were followed. Despite their apparent invisibility, they can still be sensed, as shown several times during the game such as in Hidden Truths. The HRE acts as the central culprit behind the events that transpire within the game, such as the death of Madoka and the corruption of Xander. Its inhabitants now are little more than puppets enslaved to Atheros's will, with only a few hidden from his sight. History (Will add later.) Noble Valians * Iz * Ra * El * Zoros * Rockfeller * Super Clinton * Barack * Joe * George * ??? * Avatar - The child of Iz, Ra, and El. the human avatar of Atheros. Chosen wielder of the legendary Kinslayer. * MaryAnn - The Princess of Valia and the sole user of a special pendant and the only singer of a lost song that can perform miracles. * Arete - The former queen of Valla and mother of Mary. After fleeing from Valia, she sought refugee in Novania where she married King Xander and became his second wife. * Mikoto - The mother of the Avatar, the lover of Atheros' human avatar, and the sister of Arete. After fleeing from Valla, she sought refugee in Hoshido where she married King Sumeragi and became his second wife. * Lillith - The "sister" of the Avatar, created by Anankos to serve as another puppet. She eventually left Valla and served the Avatar on their quest. * Anthony - A young Valite boy who serves Anankos before he is transformed into a Faceless for his failures. * Atheros - One of the First Dragons and former protector of Valla. Before degenerating, he created a human avatar of himself who fell in love with Mikoto, resulting in the birth of his child, the Avatar. * Caldros (Frederick) - The first king of Valla. Shigure is said to resemble him. Noble Locations * 'Bottomless Canyon- '''a massive geological feature that separates Hotaru in the east from Novania in the west. Etmology ''Valla is most likely derived as a shortened form of Valhalla, a divine hall of Norse mythology in which Odin, king of Asgard, receives the souls of those slain in battle. This mirrors Anankos's role as king and his ability to raise the spirits of the dead to act as his soldiers. Many other Norse mythological references are present in Swords of Fate, especially on the Novanian side - Xander's legendary sword Sabrewolf and Nori's legendary tome Droyeawin are named for the hero and heroine in the Niebelungenlied, an epic poem revered in Norse and later Germanic myth, and the term Einherjar, used to describe units recruitable by visiting their own My Castle and those of other players, referred to those deemed worthy by the gods to fight in Ragnarok, the final battle between good and evil at the end of the world. The name may also be a play on the word "veil" as the kingdom is hidden from the rest of the world. Trivia * The cultural elements of Valia isn't fixated, borrowing several designs and motif from Norse culture (Valla etymology and geography), Greek mythology (Vallite characters and water elements), and Indian culture (Atheros' mask, symbol of water lilies, vajra motif of Yato, and Azura's dress patterns evocative of mandala) * Valia likely takes some inspiration from Valhalla in Norse mythology ** A realm inhabited by einherjars; deceased warriors resurrected for the purpose of serving the gods, similar the Vallite warriors fought in Valla ** Valhalla translates to "Hall of the Fallen" and "Hall of the Slain" ** It is sometimes depicted as a heaven like environment in the sky, just like Valia * During the credits, Valia is represented by Water Lilies. * Oddly enough, if players set up Skirmishes in Valia, human enemies will appear despite being hidden from the rest of the world. * Enemies from Valia in any path of the game, including the 'Invaders', will appear with sprites colored with a purple color, instead of the red color usually associated with enemy units. * In Latin, the palace Argentum is named after a real kingdom in history with the same name. Gallery (Will add images later) Category:Locations